Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ryan Miller during a game against the Washington Capitals at Honda Center in Anaheim on Sunday, February 17, 2019. With the 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals, Miller became the winningest US-born goalie in NHL. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

ST. PAUL, Minn. — John Vanbiesbrouck was eager to talk Monday, one day after Ryan Miller broke his record for the most victories by a United States-born goaltender with a steady 23-save performance in the Ducks’ 5-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.

“It’s awesome,” Vanbiesbrouck said by phone from his Michigan home. “Ryan is a special player. I got to know him a little when he was at Michigan State, before he went on to the minors. He was in the minors for many years. Not many people know about that. He’s put in his time.”

Vanbiesbrouck won 374 of his 882 games over a stellar 20-year career with the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. He retired after the 2001-02 season and now serves as assistant executive director of USA Hockey.

Miller has won 375 of 748 games over a remarkably consistent 16-year career with the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and the Ducks. He went more than two months between his 374th victory and his 375th wins, sidelined by a sprained knee.

“I’m so happy for him and his family,” said Vanbiesbrouck, who is based out of the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., about 25 miles west of downtown Detroit. “To be mentioned in the same category as Ryan is really an honor.”

After all of Miller’s many victories while playing in the NHL, Vanbiesbrouck recalled Miller’s ability to elevate his play during the gold medal game of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as perhaps his finest moment, even in a losing effort in overtime.

“He was so good in that tournament,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “It was maybe one of the best games I’ve seen in my lifetime. He was with Jonathan Quick and Tim Thomas. At that time, Quick was just becoming a rising star and Thomas went on to win the Stanley Cup the next year (with Boston).

“Ryan really elevated his game.”

Vanbiesbrouck also praised Miller for playing much of his career after the NHL moved to 3-on-3 overtime and then to shootouts to decide games. Vanbiesbrouck played in the now bygone era when games that ended in ties ended it ties, making it easier for goalies.

“He’s played through a time when all the stats have changed,” Vanbiesbrouck said. “There used to be ties before they went into the shootout phase and the evolution of the game. It’s been a huge adjustment and he’s elevated himself as a one-on-one goalie.

“I have a great deal of admiration for him.”

The feeling is mutual.

Miller, an East Lansing native, grew up idolizing Vanbiesbrouck, who was born in Detroit.

“It was hard not to,” Miller said. “He was a fixture in the ’80s and ’90s, which was right when I was growing up and watching a lot of hockey. My cousin played with him a little bit. We got to interact with him a bit. When he retired, he was around Michigan hockey a bit. We’d see him around.

Vanbiesbrouck and Kelly Miller, a left wing, were teammates with the Rangers in the mid-1980s. Two other Miller cousins, Kevin and Kip, and a brother, Drew, also played in the NHL. Drew was a member of the Ducks’ 2006-07 Stanley Cup championship team.

Miller, 38, applauded the play of his fellow American goalies, including teammate John Gibson.

“I don’t think this will be a record that sticks around for too long,” Miller said. “There are just too many U.S.-born goalies coming along right now. That’s exciting for me because growing up there were only a handful of guys who were able to push through who were Americans.

“(Gibson) is certainly a candidate. He’s playing great hockey and putting good numbers up.”

Gibson, 25, has 110 victories in 224 games over six seasons with the Ducks. He is currently on injured reserve because of back, neck and head injuries.

Elliott Teaford covers the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He covered the Ducks for 12 years, including the Stanley Cup season, for the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Breeze before returning to the beat in 2018 for SCNG. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.